The evening market is ripe with excitement. Performers and dancers make their way through the crowds across from the Athera. A theater, which had been built within recent years, hosts hundreds of citizens cheering as performers dance and perform exotic plays about the Faith.
Hand in hand, Khimi and Lumi walk through the sand-covered streets while aggressive merchants approach them and show them their wares. Khimi ignores them, leaving his focus on Lumi, who is too kind at times to ignore the merchant’s claims. With a bit of force, Khimi tears Lumi away from the scene and walks along the main avenue, further away from the hustle and bustle. They’re getting relentless, he thinks with a look back at the fading market behind him.
Lumi keeps quiet along the way, his bare feet padding across the cold stones as they continue their walk through the western edges of Sidi. Though it is not planned, they find themselves out along the vineyards to the west of the city. The endless fields of grapes carry on as far as the eye can see. In the dark of the night, Lumi, with his nocturnal vision, begins to walk ahead while he pulls Khimi behind him. Even though the night is not shrouded in complete darkness, it is enough to make Khimi feel vulnerable.
“It’s okay,” Lumi whispers between his low hums. “Your hand feels so tense.”
“We don’t have to walk in the dark,” Khimi says in his flat husky tone.
Lumi halts and turns as Khimi bumps into him mid stride. “But look,” he says, his head tilted back to the heavens. His tail sweeps behind him excitedly. “The stars are so bright tonight…even with all of the lights from the city.”
Khimi scoffs and palms his face. Lumi had a way of always sounding soft and innocent. “Yeah…I suppose it’s quite peaceful. Where are you taking us anyway?”
Lumi slaps Khimi’s side with enthusiasm. “You took us out here,” he laughs.
“I was just walking,” he admits quietly.
Lumi fumbles through the leather satchel over his shoulder and pulls back the flap. “I…” he begins as he scrounges through the bag, “I took some of the shells. I wanted to put them in the house.”
It had become a custom to leave an item of significance during their trips back to Sidi, one which Khimi can never forget. Extending his hand, he takes the shell from Lumi’s hand and fumbles over it. Lumi had a way of picking objects that made him think, made him relive vivid moments. The night in the cove had been memorable, but more than that, the stories he had told Lumi of Rashid and Aleyna taking him there.
Khimi masks his smile and returns the conch to Lumi, “That’s a good one,” he whispers, “it’ll look great on the shelf.”
“I thought so too,” Lumi replies, his voice a hollow whisper. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Khimi mutters. “Don’t worry about me,” he adds as he takes Lumi’s chin and turns it up to him. “I mean it.”
Lumi shoves the shell back into the satchel and places his hand on Khimi’s cheek. “How can I not? After everything we’ve been through?”
“I don’t want you to.”
“You don’t mean that.”
Khimi sighs and turns away. “You know what I mean, Lumi,” he mutters. “There are more important thin—”
“There isn’t!” Lumi shouts as he grabs Khimi’s hand. “There isn’t…anything more important than you.”
“Lumi…stop it.”
Lumi pulls on Khimi’s hand. “No, listen to me. I mean it, Khimi…”
“You shouldn’t be saying things like this…the Gods,” Khimi whispers.
“I love the Gods, Khimi…but you will always be my heart. You must understand! You must!” He exclaims as he grabs hold of linen shirt and pulls Khimi towards him. “I’ve only survived this long because of you…you give me the strength to keep going. The strength to want to do the Gods’ bidding. You already know how much you mean to me…”
“Y-You’re right,” Khimi replies and sets his hand over Lumi’s. “I know.”
“Then don’t say things like that,” Lumi snaps with a click of his tongue. “You’ve no reason to be so down. The world is looking up for us.”
Khimi snickers and looks up to the heavens. “You’re always right…even the stars smile upon us.”
“See?” Lumi asks in a shallow whisper. “We can be happy.”
Khimi takes Lumi’s cheeks in his hands and guides their lips together for a quick kiss. “Are you going to lead us then? Since you don’t want light?”
“You can make light just as well as I can,” Lumi sasses with a smile as he turns back to the dirt road and takes Khimi’s hand once more.
The dirt path widens as they travel further from the city. The fields around them grow more expensive every bit they travel. The vineyards around them display their first signs of new growth, the stark green foliage contrasts with the ancient vines along the trellises. Khimi can tell from what he has seen that this year’s harvest will be significant. Along the path, before it splits to the Sidian port and Tarse, small houses appear here and there. The mudbrick buildings stick out from among the landscape. Small wooden fences surround the areas, keeping sheep and oxen contained.
Not far from the house, Khimi pauses and stares at the small building. Through a closed wooden fence sits the mudbrick building which feels overly familiar. Not much time had passed since the ownership was passed to him, but it still feels like home. Behind the house is a small pond surrounded by tall reeds and cattails. Lumi pushes the fence open with a forceful shove and leads Khimi near the starkly white painted house. Lumi utters a word and the oil lamp hanging from the side of the house catches light, the flickering flames casting their light across the yard.
Fireflies skim across the yard; Occasionally, their light would illuminate and glitter out just as quickly as it began. Khimi stands beside Lumi and takes another glance across the yard before he pulls a key from his pocket, pushing it into the locking mechanism and twisting sharply. With a gentle nudge, the door opens to the pitch-black inside. Lumi nudges past him and lights an oil lantern on the small kitchen table. As Lumi adjusts the lantern, light shines across the room. Wide wooden planks run throughout the entirety of the small home, and on the right is a small room with a stone hearth. Cast iron pots hang from the ceiling along the wall, while dried herbs hang from twine beneath a glass window.
Lumi crosses the small room and steps into the room opposite of the hearth. Only a desk and small bed are there, along with a wall of bookshelves, which are mostly empty aside from odds and ends: Old books with drawings, broken weapons, and a rusted gauntlet among many other smaller memorabilia. Khimi follows behind Lumi and places his hand on his shoulder as Lumi digs through the leather satchel, then places the conch on one of the empty shelves.
“It looks nice,” Lumi whispers, shuffling his feet back and forth over the wooden planks.
Khimi smiles reassuringly and runs a hand along the dusty shelf. “It looks like it belongs,” he mutters as dust flies from the shelf. “Has it really been that long since we’ve been here?”
“A year,” Lumi whispers. “And yet…it still feels the same, doesn’t it? Our home.”
Khimi sighs, “One day it will be, Lumi…when we finish.”
“We can…raise animals. Cows…the milk will be so good,” Lumi coos excitedly.
Khimi raises a brow and snickers while he walks about the room, admiring the random assortment of decorations hanging from the wall. “You want to raise livestock?” He questions quietly.
“I mean…what else will there be to do?” Lumi asks with a laugh.
Khimi sits on the bed, dust stirs into the air. It had been over a year since they laid together here. “You know…the Gods won’t allow it. They won’t allow you to just sit by idly and become a farmer.”
“I-I can do what I want,” Lumi whispers defiantly, adjusting the conch on the shelf. “I can manage to be their voice and have a life.”
Khimi clicks his tongue and reclines onto the bed, “How many other Saints get to wander about and do as they please? I can only think of all those who are confined to their Temples, to their du–”
Lumi turns to Khimi with a glaze in his eyes. He wipes his cheeks and forces a smile, “It’s not gonna be that way for us, you know. Things will be different, you’ll see, Khimi.”
“I ju-just am trying to be realis–”
“Stop it,” Lumi interrupts angrily. “Please…I know. But I have to hold onto something, Khimi. I have to have faith that things won’t be like that for us. There is so much that I have to live for with you…”
“Lumi,” Khimi breathes, “So–”
“Stop,” Lumi growls. “You always bring it up…my duty. What the Gods expect of me. Not even I know after all this time. They’ve never…NEVER! Told me once what I need to do except to restore their order,” he says as he scurries to the edge of the bed beside Khimi. Taking Khimi’s cheek in his hand he pauses and rubs his hand through Khimi’s stubble. “You’re my everything…I can’t. I can’t do any of this without you…I’ve made it known to the Gods how important you are. How much I need you.”
“I know,” Khimi murmurs as he sits up and turns, leaving Lumi between his legs. He rubs his face against Lumi’s, feeling Lumi’s soft skin against his stubble. “I need you too. You know how much I need you. Every part of you has kept me sane…every part of you has shown me love.”
Lumi’s hands rub the back of Khimi’s neck as he brings his lips to his cheek. “I’d make the vows I swore to you a thousand times and a thousand more,” he whispers, his lips brushing against Khimi’s skin. “You make me feel alive, loved.”
Khimi takes Lumi’s chin in his hand and brings their lips together. He closes his eyes as he watches Lumi close his. There is so much love he feels for Lumi that his heart pounds in his chest. His lips part and Lumi’s tongue eagerly bursts inside, pressing against his cheeks. It only takes a second for Lumi to force him onto his back and straddle him as they kiss. Already? Mounting Khimi’s abdomen, Lumi bends over Khimi and continues to kiss him, his hands grip his muscular chest and feel along the linen fabric, ripping the shirt open with haste.
“I love you,” Lumi sobs quietly as he brings his forehead against Khimi’s. “I’ve always loved you,” he adds, wet streaks running across his cheeks.
“Lumi,” Khimi whispers before bringing his lips back to Lumi’s to silence him.
Lumi whimpers against the kiss, struggling to speak as Khimi pulls them together even more tightly. Whatever Lumi had to say, he had already heard it a dozen times or more. There is no denying the truth of their words. Both of them had their points: The Gods would not allow Lumi to sit by idle, but it had been Lumi’s hope for so long to find a way to live a quaint and peaceful life alongside Khimi.
Khimi brings Lumi’s lips tighter against his own, his hand pulling at the back of his neck until their teeth scrape together. Their tongues roll together in waves and Lumi begins to move his hips against Khimi. Lumi’s hardening arousal twitches through his trousers against Khimi’s abdomen. Lumi reaches for his waistband and begins to pull the trousers down his legs in haste. Though aroused, Khimi places his hand over Lumi’s and halts him.
Lumi turns his head with labored breaths. “What…why?”
“Just calm down,” Khimi whispers, knowing what Lumi needs is intimacy, love. He presses his forehead back to Lumi’s. “Just…kiss me.”
Lumi sighs and hangs his head, “Sorry,” he replies before he brings his lips back to Khimi’s. “I just want to be with you,” he murmurs as their lips touch.
Khimi lays his head back over the dusty mattress and closes his eyes. “Just rest,” he instructs quietly. “Think about what our future will be like here, when we have our cows and sheep.”
“And I have your cubs,” Lumi whispers while he lays his head down over Khimi’s chest.
Khimi turns his head and hides his smile, “Yeah. What…we’ll have about ten or so?”
Lumi scoffs, “At least ten!”
Khimi chuckles, “With your…sexual habits we’d have, what…”
“All of them,” Lumi finishes with a massive grin. “So many!”
The idea always brings Khimi a sense of joy, even if they could never have children, they were always going to try. Khimi’s hand slides along Lumi’s back and squeezes beneath the tight choli. The stagnant scent lingering in the small building fades as the scent of honeysuckle wafts from Lumi’s hair.
“Lumi?” Khimi whispers quietly after a long silence. “I promise, we’ll come back here…”
“I know,” Lumi whispers as his low purrs begin to increase in volume as he closes his eyes. “I just want us to be happy,” he yawns.
“Me too,” Khimi whispers, repeating the words into Lumi’s thick, round ear while he itches behind them.
In the late hours of night, hours before the sun rises, Khimi sits at the desk in their room at the Athera. The writing in the ledgers seem to jumble together, hour after hour he scours over them as Lumi sleeps blissfully behind him in the comforts of the bed. Their stay at the house had been short-lived, and Khimi wished to be prepared for his return home.
Trade routes and caravans, each carefully marked with the amounts of income generated along with notations of complications during trade or loss. Khimi rubs his eyes from exhaustion and glances back at the bed as Lumi begins to stir with a quiet whimper. Khimi drums his fingers over the top of the ledger before closing it with a quiet thud. Lumi stretches at the sound and sits up from the bed, his eyes adjusting to the candlelight as he yawns. Their last night in the Athera had not gone exactly as Khimi intended.
Lumi rubs his eyes and moves to the edge of the bed. “You’re up?”
“I haven’t gone to sleep,” Khimi confesses quietly. “I mean…we slept for a while earlier anyway,” he grumbles.
Lumi reaches for the waterskin beside the nightstand and takes a lengthy drink. “We weren’t there that long, Khimi,” he says quietly as he looks out into the courtyard, “you need to rest.”
“I’ll be fine,” Khimi murmurs while he fidgets with his golden earrings. “I’m not tired now anyway, I think I am past that point.”
Lumi growls and stands from the bed. “You should definitely be asleep then. Aleyna is going to scold you for being exhausted after she’s waited this long to see you!”
Khimi purses his lips and stands from the chair, “Aleyna will understand.”
“Like Hells she will!”
“I tried to sleep…I couldn’t,” Khimi complains under his breath. “I’ve got too much on my mind.”
Lumi rushes to their belongings in the bags sitting in the chairs near one one of the opaque glass windows. “Then let’s go for a walk…you can clear your head,” he suggests with a hint of a smile.
Khimi watches as Lumi rummages through the bags from the edge of the candlelight, only to quickly find the small cloth from Shiraz. With haste he pulls it up his legs, the top resting just below his lengthy whip-like tail. “Walk, huh?” He asks as Lumi traipses up to him.
“Yeah, just something to take your mind off of…whatever this is,” Lumi replies with a tap against the ledger, “you need a break.”
“Do I?” Khimi asks, raising his brow.
Lumi places his hand on Khimi’s shoulder and brings his lips against his ear, his fingers jostle the dangling golden earring. “Lord Zeybek,” he teases, “you look a bit tense…perhaps you’d like to take a load off…or two,” he adds as his tongue licks along the tip of Khimi’s ear.
Khimi pushes himself from the chair, needing no more convincing. “Very well, Lumi, Saint of Flames.”
“Don’t push your luck,” Lumi replies as slaps Khimi’s bare chest in jest.
Khimi follows behind Lumi, his eyes drawn to Lumi’s supple rear, “I wouldn’t want to do that, push my luck that is,” he says, biting his lip as he reaches down and squeezes the soft bouncy flesh.
Lumi’s tail swats against his hand and he lets out a cheerful laugh. “Shiraz…really outdid herself, didn’t she?”
“I don’t even think you can call this clothing,” Khimi beams as he takes the black flap in his hand and lifts it, exposing the narrow black thong beneath. “It does give a great view though.”
“Calm down,” Lumi whispers teasingly, “we’re just going for a short walk.”
Lumi pushes through the door to their room and into the hallway of the bathhouse. The Athera is quiet, apart from the sound of running water. Steam billows in the cold night from the naturally warm hot springs, creating a hazy effect throughout the bathhouse. The open ceiling above them leaves the heavens on display, their light basking the bathhouse in a comforting white glow. Along the length of the stone passage, lanterns guide the way. Lumi takes Khimi’s hand and leads him along the path. The candles in the lanterns flicker as Lumi rushes past them. At the end of the passage, as the sound of the water grows louder, Lumi pulls Khimi into a small alcove which nears the natural running spring. The sound of the running water grows louder with each passing moment until it rings loudly in their ears. Glass lanterns filled with short candles illuminate the path around the bath, giving a comfortable warm light.
Lumi shoves Khimi against a stone column, his fingers snaking into the golden necklace around Khimi’s neck. “Lord Zeybek,” he whispers before pulling Khimi towards him with the golden necklace. “Kiss me,” he demands.
Khimi cannot deny Lumi’s request. “Gladly,” Khimi whispers as he brings his lips to Lumi’s, being pulled towards him by his necklace. Fiendish Lion.
The kiss is brief and desperate as Lumi’s lips move eagerly from Khmi’s lips down to his chest, his tongue licks along his muscles and down to the tufted hair along Khimi’s abdomen. With a heavy breath, Lumi presses his nose against the thick bed of hair, taking in Khimi’s familiar musk before running his tongue back along the length of Khimi’s chest. Khimi cups Lumi’s chin and brings his mouth back to his own.
Khimi moves a hand to Lumi’s plump asscheeks, spreading them generously as he pushes his finger past the thong and against Lumi’s entrance. Lumi’s hips wiggle against Khimi’s touch and his body moves against the pressure, forcing the finger inside of him.
“Can’t help myself,” Khimi whispers before shoving two fingers deeply inside of his warm entrance.
Lumi’s body shudders against Khimi’s, his knobby knees buckle briefly. “I-I’m supposed to take care of you,” he mutters between licks over Khimi’s cheek.
Khimi places his chin on Lumi’s shoulder, his fingers reaching deeper inside of the Aslan. “You’re clenching down so tight,” he mutters, his fingers sliding in and out coated in a thin layer of the familiar oils. “You prepared yourself,” he affirms in a whisper.
Lumi’s arm wraps around Khimi’s back, holding tightly to him to keep himself from falling. “I’d rather — it was your cock inside of me,” he growls as Khimi’s fingers touch the sensitive walls of his insides. “I wanted you to fuck me,” he breathes. “I wanna feel you inside,” he begs in a shallow whisper.
“That can be fixed,” Khimi responds with a smirk.
Lumi presses himself against Khimi’s arousal throbbing through the linen trousers. “Let me lick it,” he pleads, his eyes glazed over in lust. “Then you can fuck me all you want, spill your seed in me as much as you need…I know you need to let it all out before tomorrow,” he prattles excitedly.
“It’s never just a taste with you,” Khimi whispers while he slowly withdraws his fingers from inside of Lumi; The Aslan’s entrance clamps down as he pulls them out.
Lumi brings himself low before Khimi and stares at the meaty slab throbbing against the linen trousers before him. “You have to give me more than a taste,” He says with an ear to ear grin.
“Fine,” Khimi snorts and tilts his head back against the stone column.
Lumi pulls at the top of Khimi’s trousers, rolling them down his thighs. The nodding cock leaps up to greet him, its flared tip, bright and flush with color. Precum oozes in gracious amounts from the slit, his foreskin soaked with the pearlescent fluid. Lumi seems unable to contain his excitement, his tongue making quick work of the leaking fluid before swirling about the tip. Khimi’s subtle moans only serve to arouse Lumi further, his fingers gripping at the base as he brings his lips against the side of the quivering girth. Lumi’s eyes flash upward at Khimi as if pleading for his reward.
Khimi’s thumb kneads into Lumi’s round ear, his eyes fixed on Lumi’s as he begins to move his lips along the length of the shaft. Lumi’s tongue brushes against the veins along the side. Vigilantly, Lumi peels back the bit of foreskin over the flared head and forces his tongue between it as he draws the head into his mouth. His tongue rolls like a wave, causing Khimi’s body to shake, his hands trembling against Lumi’s ear.
“That tongue,” Khimi winces, his head tilted back against the column in pleasure. “That is a gift from the Gods.”
Lumi gives a hearty lick over the dripping slit, “You think so?” He asks with a confident smirk. “I’ve always thought this,” he says, jostling the cock in his hands, “was a gift from the Gods.”
Khimi nods, sucking his teeth. “I am quite certain we both have our gifts,” he smiles, his eyes closed from the pleasure.
Lumi brings the tip back into his mouth and begins to shift his head over the length, drawing the shaft further along his tongue until the hardened length presses at the back of his throat. The thick vein at the base of Khimi’s cock throbs desperately as Lumi forces even more of the length inside. Lumi’s hands reach behind Khimi, his fingers digging into Khimi’s haunches. Khimi’s hand brushes against Lumi’s cheek as his thumb moves Lumi’s lip aside, watching as his cock slides gently against the pointed fangs.
“Your mouth is so fucking warm,” Khimi mutters, his hips bucking against Lumi’s mouth.
Lumi’s grip tightens, unable to say a word; He clings onto his lover desperately. Khimi’s heavy testicles clap against his chin with the bucking motion, saliva and precum drips from the edges of Lumi’s lips and over the heavy sack.
Khimi’s breath becomes shaky, his abdomen rising and falling quickly as he wraps his arms around the back of Lumi’s head. “Fuck,” he murmurs through grit teeth, his hips thrusting eagerly into the warmth of Lumi’s throat. The prickly tongue brings untold pleasure as he pushes Lumi’s face against his groin, his cock jammed to the hilt against Lumi’s lips.
The full girth of Khimi’s hilted cock stretches Lumi’s jaw muscles. As Khimi releases his head slightly, Lumi breaks away and continues to move his head to and fro, greedily working Khimi’s cock in his throat. So hungry for Khimi’s pleasure, Lumi’s cock erupts, a stream of cum shoots across the marble tiles and onto Khimi’s ankle. Lumi breaths heavily as he pulls the length from his mouth, kissing along the shaft as it sits against his lips. Saliva rolls down his chin and drips onto the tiles in front of him.
“We have a room right there,” Khimi whispers, hands digging back into Lumi’s blonde hair. “We can finish there.”
Lumi’s teeth tease against the sensitive flesh as he looks up with lust filled eyes. “I don’t care. You can finish here,” he replies, swinging his hips from side to side as he opens his mouth wide and sticks his tongue out.
Khimi scoffs, “Hells.”
Lumi carefully strokes the length from the base, forcing the foreskin back and forth over the tip against his mouth. The rough tiny spines along Lumi’s tongue brush against Khimi’s bobbing cock; He squeezes the base and forces the tip back into his mouth. With pleading eyes, he looks up to Khimi as if to beg for his reward. Khimi shakes his head in disbelief, his hands coiling back into the blonde hair. Thrust after thrust, Lumi feels the length push further into his throat, the veins along the length pulsating as Khimi nears climax. Lumi crouches closer and forces his lips down to Khimi’s pelvis, the full length throbbing in his aching mouth. His tongue rolls diligently along the base as it nods with desire. Lumi’s toes curl with a final buck from Khimi’s hips. Khimi grunts and presses his hands against the back of Lumi’s head, a torrent of explosive heat pours into the back of Lumi’s throat.
Khimi’s body tenses from the pleasure. “L-Lumi,” he moans in pleasure.
The shaking sack against Lumi’s chin gives no sign of halting as cum continues to explode from Khimi’s shaft in thick and endless waves. Slowly, Lumi pulls back as the final ribbons of cum drip over his tongue. With his mouth open wide, he lets Khimi watch as his cock paints the warm walls of his mouth white with his seed. Khimi snorts and tilts Lumi’s head back further, allowing himself to watch the vivid display. After licking his tongue against Khimi’s cock, he lets the remaining bit slowly drip over his cupped tongue.
“I…needed that,” Khimi whispers as he itches behind Lumi’s ear.
“Me too,” Lumi replies, drawing his tongue back into his mouth. He rises from the tiles and grabs Khimi’s necklace.
Khimi eyes him suspiciously, “What’re yo–”
Lumi’s lips press against Khimi’s, forcing his tongue between Khimi’s parted lips. Khimi shoves him back quickly and Lumi chuckles. “You taste great!”
“Great isn’t the word…I would choose,” Khimi replies as he grabs Lumi’s chin and pulls him against himself.
“I feel full,” Lumi groans, “You came so much…so much.”
“The Little Lion finally had his fill?”
“As if,” Lumi teases. “You still look a bit…excited, Lord Zeybek.”
“Oh, do I?” Khimi questions as he lowers his lips into Lumi’s hair.
Lumi grips the base of Khimi’s shaft and gives him a generous squeeze. “I know you wanna keep going,” he whispers, his tongue running along his lips. “No one is going to come out here this late…so how would we finish what we started the other day.”
“Tell me what you want,” Khimi says gruffly as he tugs Lumi against himself.
Lumi places his lips against Khimi’s chest. “I want you to fuck me, Khimi Zeybek. Before the eyes of Gods and men…I want you to show me how much you love me. Over and over,” he whispers.
Khimi gives Lumi’s rear a hearty squeeze before he drops to his knees. “I’ll always show you,” he says quietly, placing a kiss on Lumi’s soft stomach.
Lumi strokes his fingers through Khimi’s raven hair before he sits on the floor before Khimi and lowers his back against the cold stone. His tail sways behind him anxiously as he spreads his legs and pulls the thong aside, revealing his winking entrance. “Come’on,” he utters, “I need you.”
Khimi kicks his trousers off his legs and moves over Lumi. “Since you asked so nicely,” he rasps quietly.
In the lantern light, Khimi stares down at Lumi, his chest pounding just as it had the first night they met. Sweat glistens across Lumi’s form while he wriggles beneath him anxiously. The impossibly blue eyes stare up at him, waiting for him to make the next move. He follows along the contour of Lumi’s body, his hand tracing along his side, then pushes Lumi’s hands above his head. Pinning them down, he smiles as Lumi lifts his haunches to Khimi.
“Make love to me…like tonight is our last,” he breathes, his soft parted lips revealing a coy smile.
“Always,” Khimi whispers.